Flora of North America species comparison

erect, green or red on proximal parts or throughout, mostly branched from base or only in distal 1/2, 30–150 cm.

erect to ascending or decumbent, branched or unbranched.

in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 10–30 × 1–4 cm, cauline 4–18 × 1–3 cm;

blade usually bright green, sometimes pale green distally, white- or red-veined, narrowly oblanceolate, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, or oblong, margins usually flat, rarely undulate, regularly dentate to remotely denticulate, sometimes teeth widely spaced;

bracts persistent.

in a basal rosette and cauline, cauline (1–)3–25 cm;

blade margins pinnately lobed to sinuate-dentate, serrate to dentate or subentire.

erect or ± curved, unbranched or with secondary branches just proximal to main one.

solitary flowers in axils of distal leaves, usually forming a dense or lax spike.

opening near sunset;

buds erect, 3–5 mm diam., with free tips subterminal, spreading to erect, 0.5–5 mm;

floral tube 22–40 mm;

sepals green to yellowish green or flushed with red or dark red, sometimes only red-flecked, 7–17 mm;

petals yellow to pale yellow, fading pale yellow to pale yellowish orange, very broadly obcordate, 8–15(–20) mm;

filaments 7–13 mm, anthers 3.5–6 mm, pollen ca. 50% fertile;

style 25–50 mm, stigma surrounded by anthers at anthesis.

opening near sunset, with a sweet scent or nearly unscented;

buds erect or recurved, terete or weakly quadrangular, with free tips;

floral tube 12–165(–190) mm;

sepals separating in pairs and reflexed, or splitting along only 1 suture and reflexed to one side as a unit, or separate and reflexed individually;

petals yellow, usually fading orange, reddish orange, yellow, or yellowish white, usually obcordate to obovate, sometimes rhombic, elliptic, or rhombic-ovate;

stigma deeply divided into 4 linear lobes.

erect or slightly spreading, usually greenish black when dry, narrowly lanceoloid to lanceoloid, 20–40 ×3.5–5 mm, free tips of valves 1–1.5 mm.

straight, curved, or somewhat sigmoid, becoming somewhat woody in age, cylindrical to narrowly lanceoloid or ovoid, terete to weakly 4-angled dehiscent nearly throughout their length;

sessile.

1.1–1.8 × 0.5–1 mm.

numerous, in (1 or) 2 rows per locule, prismatic and angled, narrowly to broadly ellipsoid to subglobose, rarely obovoid and obtusely angled, surface reticulate and regularly or irregularly pitted, rarely flat.

= 14.

= 14.